Flatiron cord guide



PI' 14, 1953 J. N. PoLlvKA ETAL FLATIRON CORD GUIDE Filed Nov. 5, 1948 /NVENTORS JOHN N. POLIVKA THOMAS s. zAsTRow v/ BY yfawm A T TORNE Y Patented Apr. 14, V1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FLATIRON CORD GUIDE John N. Polivka, Minneapolis, and Thomas S. Zastrow, St. Paul, Minn., assignors to General Mills, Inc., a corporation of Delaware Application November 5, 1948, Serial No. 58,436

(Cl. 35i- 75) 9 Claims. 1

The present invention relates to fiatiron cord guides and more particularly to a cord guide for a steam attachment designed for use with a atiron.

Electric atirons are well known in which the electric supply cord extends outwardly from some portion of the handle. Usually the supply cord is provided with a resilient cord guide which tends to extend the cord in a given direction, either to the rear of the handle or laterally to one side thereof. When a steam ironing attachment is fastened to the Flatiron it is ordinarily desirable to locate the major portions of the attachments to the rear of the flatiron handle, in order that the user may have an unobstructed View of the forward and side portions of the atiron. In such cases, the construction may be such that certain portions of the attachment may occupy a position in the path through which the flatiron cord would normally extend.

It is accordingly one object of the present invention to provide an improved cord guide for a atiron.

It is a ,further object to provide a cord guide having a retaining portion for engagement with the atiron cord to hold the cord in a different position or direction.

It is still another object of the invention to provide a steam attachment for an ordinary flatiron in which the steam attachment has an operating member substantially in the path of the cord when the attachment is mounted on the iron and in which the attachment is further provided with a guide member having retaining portions for selective engagement of the cord to extend it in another direction away from the operating member.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a cord guide for use with a flatiron in which the cord normally extends rearwardly of the iron and in which the cord guide has two retaining portions selectively engageable with the cord to deflect it and extend it laterally to one side or the other of the iron for the convenience of either left-handed or right-handed users.

A further object is to provide a steam ironing attachment for use with a flatiron in which the cord extends rearwardly from the flatiron handle and in which the attachment has a liquid supply tank and an operating member located in rear of the handle in combination with a guide member for deflection of the iron cord away from the operating member.

Other objects and advantages of the application will be apparent from the following specication in which a preferred embodiment of the invention is described by way of example. In the drawings which form a part of this specification,

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a steam ironing attachment according to the invention in position beneath a flatiron.

Fig. 2 is a partial'perspective view of the rear portion of the steam attachment showing details of the improved cord guide according to the invention.

Fig. 3 is a partial top plan of the iiatiron and steam attachment of Fig. 1, but with the supply cord held in a different position by the cord guide.

Fig. 4 is a front elevation of the cord guide showing details of its construction, and

Fig. 5 is a partial perspective view of an alter-s nate embodiment of the invention in which the cord guide is mounted directly on the flatiron.

In Fig. 1 the steam ironing attachment I0 is mounted beneath a regular atiron II. This flatiron includes a bottom plate member I2 heated by an internal electrical resistance (not shown). A shell or cover I3 above plate member I2 protects and conceals the internal parts of the atiron. A handle I4 is mounted above the plate and shell assembly and is provided at its rear portion with an electric supply cord I5 eX- tending longitudinally to the rear of the handle. The customary resilient cord guide or spring sleeve I6 is provided and this resilient sleeve member I6 urges the cord I5 to the dotted lineposition indicated in Fig. 1 when the iron is .used separately from the attachment.

The Vsteam ironing attachment includes a steam soleplate I'I with a liquid supply tank I 8 mounted at its rear portion. A .suitable conduit I9 carries the liquid from the tank I8 to the steam soleplate I 'I where it is converted into steam in a steam chamber 23, and is released through the bottom ofthe steam soleplate I1 through outlets 25.

Any desired attaching means may be provided for fastening the steam attachment I0 beneath: the flatiron I I, the attachment means having an operating handle 20. In Fig. 2 a spring latch member 2l has been shown which is operable by the handle 20. Such a spring latchforms part of the fastening mechanism described` and claimed in the co-pending application of John N. Polivka and Maurice H. Graham, Serial No. 53,902,l filed October 11, 1948, and assigned to the same assignee as the present invention. Since any conventional or desired attachment means may be utilized in conjunction with the improvements of the present invention, no further details of such fastening mechanism are given.

An operating member 22 is mounted on the steam attachment and is located in this case at the central top portion of the supply tank i8. It will be understood that member 22 may be any desired type of operating member which is necessary or which can be utilized in conjunction with such an attachment. For example, it may be a valve control member to regulate the flow of liquid from the tank to the steam soleplate I1. It might also be a removable cap through which the tank I8 is to be filled.

As indicated in Fig. 1, this control member 22 is located in a position which would lie substantially in the path of the atiron cord I5, if that cord were permitted to assume its normal position (shown in dotted lines) under the inuence of the protecting spring I6. (See also the upper dotted line position of Fig. 3.) To direct the cord I into a different position in which the operating member 22 will be fully accessible, a cord guide 24 is provided according to the present invention. As shown in Fig. 2, this cord guide 2a includes a supporting arm 26 which is preferably mounted on a portion of the tank i8 by any suitable method such as welding or riveting. Above the supporting base 26 the cordgguide 2e has two lsubstantially Vertical `retaining portions 23 and 30 (Fig. 4).

These vertical retaining portions 2S and 33 may "areoutwardlyand upwardly as shown in Figri'to points 34 and 36 vat the top thereof.

The cord guide also includes a substantially horizontal'top portion 32 whichmerges smoothly with the outwardly flared sidesin the regions 3d and 36. The forward face of the cord guide is dished or concave in the area 38 and slopes upwardly and rearwardly, as shown.

From the drawings it is apparent that the cord guide accordingly has two substantially vertical retaining portions which are adapted to deflect the cord laterally either to the left or the right of the operating member 22 as shown in the heavy line and lower dotted line positions of Fig. 3. In the case of a right-handed user of the iron, it will ordinarily be desirable to engage the cord I5 with the retaining surface 28 so that the cord will assume the heavy line position of Fig. 3 .and will be directed away from the operator.r Thus the operating member 22 is fully accessible to the operator without interference from the supply cord.

At the same time the device is equally enicient in the vhands of a left-handed operator since such an operator can engage the cord I5 and.

spring yguard IB with the opposite retaining surface 3u of the cord guide 24 to direct the cord selectively `to the opposite side of control knob 22. Thus for the left-handed user the control member 22 will ybe equally accessible without interference from the cord.

In Fig. 4, the heavy circle Ail indicates vhow the retaining surface 28 holds the cord in what would correspond to the heavy line position of Fig. 3, while the dotted circle 42 shows the effect of the opposite vertical retaining surface 30 in holding the cord in the lower dotted line position of Fig. 3.

Invsome cases it is desirable to provide means for directing the supply cord I5 upwardly so that it will extend well above the control member 22. For this purpose the cord I5 may be engaged with the substantially horizontal retaining surface 32 and the adjacent concave area 38 to extend the cord in the heavy line position of Fig. 1. In this case, the operating member 22 is accessible from the rear of the iron without interference from the supply cord.

The slight outward flaring of the upper portions of the retaining surfaces 28 and 30 serves the double function of broadening the width of the guide member so that the upper retaining surface 32 will offer substantial support to the cord in the position of Fig. 1, and also of providing a slight overhanging portion at 34 and at 35 to hold the cord in either of its laterally deflected positions and prevent it from jumping out of position as a result of movement of the iron during operation. Since the resilient guard IB always tends to restore the cord I5 to the central dotted line position of Fig. 3, which corresponds to the dotted line position of Fig. 1, the cord guide 24 will retain the supply cord in any of the three positions shown in the drawings. Also, with the cord in either of its lateral positions, downward movement of the cord will be prevented by the top of the tank. Thus the outwardly and upwardly flaring sides 28 and 3Q cooperate with the top of the tank to form a wedge-shaped notch into which the cord is urged by the resilience of guide spring I3.

It should be noted that as a result of the out-- ward flaring of the vertical retaining surfaces 28 and 30, there is a-substantially angular relationship among all three of the retaining surfaces 28, 32, and 32 with respect to each other.

In Fig. 5, a diiferent form of the invention has been illustrated. In this case a cord guides@- tened to the body of the ii-atiron in any desiredmanner and may, for example, be constructed as an integral extension of a spacer member 53 fastened between the base of handle I4 and the cover shell I3. Any other mounting for the vcord guide could obviously be substituted as long as the three effective retaining portions of the guide are located in the normal path of the supply cord I5.

The cord guide described in the foregoing specication accomplishes the objects of the invention and offers definite advantages particularly in combination with a steam attachment for a flatiron of the type described. Various modifications and changes may be made by persons skilled in this field, in the light of the teachings of the present application, without departure from the spirit and scope of the following claims.`

We claim as our invention:

1. An attachment for use with a flatiron having a cord extending therefrom at a given point and in a given direction, the attachment having an operating member substantially in the path of the cord when the attachment is operatively associated with the iron, and a cord guide mounted on the attachment immediately adjacent said point, the cord guide having at least one retaining portion offset from the path for selective engagement with the cord to extend the latter away from the operating member. i i

2. A steam ironing attachment for use with a atiron having a cord extending therefrom at a given point and in a given direction, the attachment having a liquid supply tank and an operating member substantially in the path of the cord when the attachment is `operatively associated with the iron, and a cord guide mounted on the tank between said point and the operating member, the guide having at least one retaining `portion offset from the path for selective engagement with the cord to extend the latter away from the operating member.

3. A steam ironing attachment for use with a fiatiron having a cord extending therefrom at a given point and in a given direction, the attachment having a liquid supply tank, an operating member mounted on the tank substantially in the path of the cord when the attachment is operatively associated with the iron, and a cord guide mounted on the tank between said point and the operating member, the guide having at least one retaining portion oiset from the path for selective engagement with the cord to extend the latter away from the operating member.

4. A steam ironing attachment for use with a atiron having a handle and la cord extending rearwardly from the handle, the attachment having a liquid supply tank in rear of the handle, an operating member mounted on the tank substantially in the path of the cord when the attachment is operatively associated with the iron, and a cord guide mounted on the tank between the handle and operating member, the cord guide having at least one retaining portion offset from the path for selective engagement with the cord to extend the latter away from the operating member.

5. An attachment according to claim 1, in which the cord guide has two substantially vertical retaining portions laterally oiset on opposite sides of the path for selective extension of tthe cord laterally in one of two different direcions.

5. An attachment according to claim l, in `which the cord guide has three retaining portions all of which are angnlarly related to each other.

7. An attachment according to claim l, in which the cord guide has three retaining portions, two of which are laterally oiset from said path and one of which is vertically offset from the path for selective extension of the cord in either of two lateral directions or a vertical direction.

8. A steam ironing attachment according to claim 2, in which the cord guide is provided with three retaining portions, at least two of which are angularly related to each other.

9. In a flatiron having a cord extending' therefrom ata given point and a resilient sleeve member of substantial length enclosing a portion of the cord immediately adjacent said point and normally holding the cord in a given path, the improvement comprising an auxiliary cord guide having one end attached to the Flatiron and having at its other end a relatively rigid retaining portion extending immediately adjacent to but out of said path and adapted for selective engagement with the sleeve member to hold the latter and the cord in a different path against the urging of the resilient member.

JOHN N. POLIVKA. THOMAS S. ZASTROW.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,282,040 Bullock et al. Oct. 22, 1918 1,585,604 Ruff May 18, 1926 2,154,781 Smith Apr. 18, 1939 2,332,374 Fagan Oct. 19, 1943 

